‘West has much to learn from the grace of China and its people,’ says Altan singer
Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh of Altan, who said the band loved performing in China in 2014.
Ireland could learn a lot from the grace of Chinese people, who are warm, welcoming, culturally open and inquisitive, says Altan’s lead singer and fiddle player Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh.
The Chinese people who engaged with Altan during the band’s 2014 shows in Beijing and Shanghai live long in the memory, as do images of the Forbidden City and other beautifully maintained historic sites, nestling among the country’s ultra-modern new buildings.
“The beauty of the place is breathtaking,” recalls Mairéad. “With the juxtaposition of the beautiful ancient buildings alongside the stunning modern architecture, you just know that you are somewhere really special.
“These are very intelligent people. I’m sure that in modernising, they realise the beauty of what they have; they won’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.
“I also remember the amazing cuisine; authentic Chinese food really is an art form. You quickly realise that this is an incredibly strong culture with a great sense of its own history, and so completely different from the western world. I know that they realise that and that they will hold onto it. And, of course, they’re very successful. We really could learn a lot from them.”
The legendary Donegal trad band was the jewel in a star-laden, state-funded Irish tour of China in 2014, along with Riverdance, performance artist Amanda Coogan, disk jockey David Holmes and an exhibition of paintings by Louis Le Broquy and other artists, sculptors, poets and more.
Altan music is very firmly rooted in Irish trad, but it can sometimes also have light traces of jazz, Americana and world music. For the Chinese audience that night in the Forbidden City Concert Hall in Beijing, the band’s rhythm and energy proved irresistible.
“We loved that show,” says Mairéad. “Our Ambassador to China [Paul Kavanagh] and others were dancing in the aisles. I found out later that my arm was broken, but I didn’t realise it until I was back home in Donegal when I went to see my doctor.
“I knew it was sore, but by it must have started healing itself. As it turned out, I didn’t even need physio. Anyway, I played on that night and really enjoyed it; and I enjoyed the people. They have an awareness of our culture and our mythology.
“They also knew that we’re from Donegal, a culture literally on the edge of Europe and far less densely populated than life in a big city like Beijing. Some said they could feel the space in our music. People were aware of the Gaelic language, and they loved the fact that the band all spoke the language.”
Mairéad remembers the vibrant colours of the Forbidden City, as well as the striking streetscapes, which were so visually different to the predominantly western architecture she has seen during Altan’s years of touring the world.
She recalls having a sense of an ancient culture still being very present in people’s daily lives. She also remembers one marked cultural difference in the importance of hierarchy in the deference that Chinese people show towards the leader in a social setting.
“They were addressing all their questions to me,” she recalls. “They clearly had the idea that I was the boss of Altan; if only they knew the reality of how we actually work. I found that very amusing, but you can also see how well that system works for them.
“Cultural differences can be odd, but they’re something that we just have to respect when we’re on tour. If you are doing business with people in China, then you have to respect their ways.
“You also have to admire the quietly confident way they go about their business; and they’re very welcoming. Of course, the Irish are also very welcoming, but there’s something very striking about the way the Chinese bring so much grace to the things they do. We really have a lot to learn from Chinese people.”
Altan's latest album, 'Donegal', was released in March.
